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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23502565">We should quit, but we love it too much</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sdktrs12/pseuds/Sdktrs12'>Sdktrs12</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Girls (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Hotels, Jealousy, Post Season 3, Quarantine fic but like barely, loose plot for the sole purpose of smut, sexual content obviously, they're still dumb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:09:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,603</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23502565</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sdktrs12/pseuds/Sdktrs12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Beth tilts her head to the side, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She smooths her hands over the front of her dress, wondering if there will ever be a time where the ground isn’t constantly shifting underneath her feet, throwing her whole life off balance.  </p><p>Where <em>Rio</em> isn’t constantly shifting, throwing <em>her</em> off balance.    </p><p>He had shown up at her house and tossed a garment bag at her, demanding she get dressed and ready ASAP, since apparently there was a meeting on the books that she was now a part of and they were already running late.  </p><p>Beth had been left temporarily speechless, frozen in place, not only by the sudden intrusion, but by how Rio himself had looked. </p><p>He was clean shaven and dressed to the nines in a tailored black suit and skinny tie and the fit of it against his body, framing his tattoo, was enough to have her conjuring up insanely inappropriate thoughts, especially inappropriate after everything that had already transpired between them. She’d readily zeroed in on his jewelry, his achingly familiar rings and bracelets, a visual reminder that even though he was currently camouflaging himself (a wolf in sheep's clothing), he was still him, underneath it all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beth Boland/Rio</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>235</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>We should quit, but we love it too much</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is set post season 3, when these assholes have gotten over their need to try and kill each other, but not past their need to piss each other off.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Beth tilts her head to the side, looking at her reflection in her bathroom mirror. She smooths her hands over the front of her dress, wondering if there will ever be a time where the ground isn’t constantly shifting underneath her feet, throwing her whole life off balance.  </p><p>Where <em> Rio </em> isn’t constantly shifting, throwing <em> her </em> off balance.    </p><p>Rio had shown up at her house, popping up like a damn genie, as he is wont to do, and tossed a garment bag at her, demanding she get dressed and ready ASAP, since apparently there was a meeting on the books that she was now a part of and they were already running late.  </p><p>Thank god her kids had been with Dean at his mom’s and she didn’t have to deal with the fallout of that.  </p><p>(She briefly wonders if Rio has some sort of surveillance on her still, since he always seems to magically know when her kids and Dean are out of the house.) </p><p>Beth had been left temporarily speechless, frozen in place, not only by the sudden intrusion, but by how Rio himself had <em> looked </em>. </p><p>He was clean shaven and dressed to the nines in a tailored black suit and skinny tie and the fit of it against his body, framing his <em>tattoo</em>, was enough to have her conjuring up insanely inappropriate thoughts, <em>especially</em> <em>inappropriate </em>after everything that had already transpired between them. She’d readily zeroed in on his jewelry, his achingly familiar rings and bracelets, a visual reminder that even though he was currently camouflaging himself (a wolf in sheep's clothing), he was still him, underneath it all.     </p><p>The garment bag had contained the dress she’s currently wearing.  </p><p>She’d balked at first, stuttering out a protest that she had a full wardrobe in her closet, <em>including formal</em> <em>dresses</em>, but Rio had just scoffed at her, dismissing her objections with a wave of his hand and a callous “You got twenty minutes.”, before he’d turned away to text on his phone.   </p><p>She’d tried to bring up the quarantine, the curfew that was already in place because of the virus that was fast spreading, but he’d ignored her, actually answering a phone call in the middle of her tirade.  </p><p>When she’d realized that he was in no way concerned about <em> her </em> concerns and he wasn’t going to budge on the topic, she’d scurried back to her room with the dress, closing and locking the door behind her.  </p><p>She’d quickly unzipped the garment bag and pulled the dress out, her heart skipping a beat as she carefully laid it down on the bed to take in all the details.  </p><p>It was a fitted black knee length cocktail dress with a considerably low cut neckline. She’d bitten at her lip, her eyes sliding over to her closet, mentally flipping through her own limited dress options. </p><p>Then Rio’s voice had traveled through the door, obnoxiously reminding her of their time constraint, and Beth just knew if she came out in anything else, he would probably drag her back into her bedroom and change her himself.  </p><p>Plus, he was only giving her twenty minutes and she still had her hair and makeup to contend with. She had a feeling, with the way he was dressed, she was supposed to look presentable as well.  </p><p>Beth had let out a deep sigh, resigning herself to her fate. She’d yanked her shirt off and shoved her pants down, then side eyed the dress, before deciding to change her mismatched underwear and bra as well.  </p><p>Beth had worried about the dresses fit, but all worries had quickly faded away as soon as she’d put it on. It fit like a glove. She’d had a fleeting thought as to how Rio seemed to know her exact measurements and then she’d set about distracting herself with hair and makeup.  </p><p>Now, she’s giving herself a critical once over in the mirror, more than a little annoyed that she has no idea what exactly she’s dressing for. After falling into bed together one last time, her and Rio had settled into an uneasy truce. They’d be civil with each other, and that was it. But Rio (being <em> Rio) </em>is still prone to his mood swings, and he’s gotten into a new habit of dropping in unannounced to drag her off to various places on extremely short notice. She swears he’s testing her, seeing how long she can hold up before she completely cracks. He should really know better by now.  </p><p>She wonders which version of him she’ll be putting up with tonight. Playful Rio rarely comes out these days, but she honestly prefers to deal with Neutral Rio anyways—there’s less...emotion involved. She’s leaning toward Petty Rio this time around though, which is fine. Her invisible armor's gotten thicker, stronger in the places she knows he likes to poke and prod at the most. She’s better equipped to deal with Petty Rio now.   </p><p>Beth walks back into her bedroom, pulling on a pair of strappy black heels and grabbing a black button up cardigan out of her closet (because really, the neckline on this dress is obscene). She’s barely gotten it on and buttoned up, before Rio’s pounding on the door, nearly giving her a heart attack. It’s apparently his non verbal cue that he’s done waiting, because he stomps off without saying anything.  </p><p>When Beth finally steps out into the living room, he spares her one cursory glance before turning and walking out the front door without a word.  </p><p>Beth lets out a loud sigh, grabbing her clutch and shoving her phone and necessary cards inside, before hurrying out after him.  </p><p>Petty Rio it is.  </p><p>The car ride is awkward, to say the least. Beth tries to ask him where they are going and who they are meeting, but her questions fall on deaf ears. Her nervous small talk is met with the same non reaction. She gives up after that.  </p><p>She knows she’s a glutton for punishment when it comes to him, but even she can only take so much. </p><p>She keeps waiting for them to stop somewhere, anywhere, but it doesn’t happen. Beth starts getting nervous around the twenty minute mark, and then downright anxious when she realizes they are <em> heading out of town.  </em> </p><p>She’s on edge, too far gone to even attempt to solicit any information out of him again. It’s been awhile since he’s wanted (or tried) to kill her, but she honestly wouldn’t put it past him to decide to pick it up like an old sport again, just out of sheer boredom.  </p><p>An hour later, they’re pulling up to a resort and while Beth still feels like her heart is lodged in her throat, she also feels like she can breathe a little easier again. She still feels sick at the thought of walking in there blind however, not knowing who they are meeting or what it’s about.  </p><p>Rio leads her in, his arm coming up to wrap around her waist, hand firmly on her hip, as he guides her straight into the elevator, hitting the button for the 17th floor. He’s still silent, barely sparing her a look, until the elevator dings and the doors slid open again, and then his hand is at the small of her back, gently pushing her forward and out.  </p><p>She really wishes he’d quit touching her. It’s making her body respond in a way it <em> shouldn’t </em> anymore.   </p><p>They step out into a vast open restaurant bar area and it’s immediately apparent there’s some sort of event going on.  </p><p>Did nobody in this town care about this quarantine? Because there was a considerable amount of people gathered here and none of them were practicing proper social distancing.    </p><p>Beth chances a glance at Rio, but his focus is solely on the crowd in front of him, eyes sweeping over the area until they pause, and stop, apparently having found whatever he was looking for.  </p><p>Beth’s about to ask him what they’re doing here, when he leans into her, mouth close as he whispers in her ear, causing a full body shiver to rake through her. “See that guy in the blue shirt an ugly ass tie over at the bar?”  </p><p>Beth’s eyes dart over to the bar area, locating the guy almost immediately, despite how crowded it is. The tie really is that ugly. </p><p>Beth quickly nods her head, not trusting her voice to speak with him so close.  </p><p>“I need you to be a distraction.”  </p><p>Beth’s head snaps back to look at him, and if she wasn’t so pissed off, she would have too much time to think about how close their faces are right now.  </p><p>This was the reason he’d dragged her out of her house late at night? </p><p>To flirt? </p><p>“I am not a warm body for you to use—” </p><p>“Elizabeth.” There’s a warning in his tone and she looks away as she bites her tongue, not wanting to cause a scene. “It aint like that.”  </p><p>Her eyes snap back up to his, surprised that he’s willingly offering her any sort of clarification.  </p><p>“Jus’ keep an eye on him and make sure he don’t leave the bar. I need to have a lil’ chat with his partner. Half an hour, tops.”  </p><p>The light squeeze he gives her arm is oddly reassuring and she finds herself relaxing a little bit.  </p><p>“What exactly am I supposed to do if he tries to leave?”   </p><p>Rio’s eyes travel slowly down her body and back up again and Beth flushes. “I’m sure you’ll think of somethin’. ‘Sides, never known you to have an issue findin’ somethin’ to ramble on about.”  </p><p>Beth makes a tiny noise of outrage, starting to protest that she <em> does not ramble </em>, but Rio just grins as he turns away, quickly disappearing into the crowd, leaving Beth to fend for herself.  </p><p><em> Asshole. </em>  </p><p>So, she gives herself a quick pep talk as she walks up to the bar, ordering a shot to soothe her nerves, keeping a watchful eye on Ugly Tie at the other end of the bar. It takes another shot for her to work up the courage to finally sidle up next to him, settling herself into the stool there. Beth spots Rio out of the corner of her eye just as he walks out with who she assumes is the aforementioned partner.  </p><p>Ugly Tie guy starts to get antsy around the ten minute mark, neck craning to look around the room. Beth has a feeling he’s searching for his partner, so the next time he turns his head her way, she makes sure to offer him her sweetest smile. Ted, he introduces himself as, doesn’t seem like a total douche, which makes Beth feel slightly better about being used as bait. As it turns out, he’s actually surprisingly easy to talk to. He’s married and he has kids and he seems like a genuinely nice guy. Beth feels absolutely awful for whatever Ted’s going to have to endure after Rio’s done with his partner. That thought only amplifies when half an hour quickly turns into an hour, and then Beth is silently cursing Rio for throwing her for a loop, <em> again</em>, with his total disregard of time and lack of common courtesy when it comes to her.  </p><p>She quickly checks her phone, hoping to see a text from him. There is none. </p><p>She has half her attention on Ted, nodding her head and laughing at the appropriate times, and half her attention on the crowd of people around them. She’s quickly scanning the room, becoming increasingly worried. Is she supposed to just sit here and wait all night? How long is an acceptable amount of time before she should go looking for him? What if something has already happened to him— </p><p>She’s barely had the thought, her heart seizing up at even the <em> idea </em> of Rio being hurt, when she finally spots him. He’s leaning back against the wall on the far side of the room, nursing a drink. As soon as she locks eyes with him, he raises his glass towards her in an apparent toast, before lifting it to his lips. </p><p><em> What. The. Fuck.  </em> </p><p>How long had he just been standing there, watching her like that? Beth feels that familiar thrum of tension coursing through her, making her squirm in her seat. She quickly disengages from Ted, anger (and something else), fueling her as she pushes her way through the crowd and across the room, to Rio. </p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me you were done?” She hisses as soon as she gets close.  </p><p>“Didn’t want to interrupt you two.” His gaze is still back the way she’d came, on Ted at the bar, and Beth fists her hands at her sides, resisting the urge to grab his chin and force him to look at her. He’s so intensely focused on Ted, that Beth lets out a frustrated little sigh before she turns her attention back that way as well. They watch and wait, and maybe ten minutes go by before the partner is approaching him, leaning down to talk angrily in Ted’s ear, before grabbing him and dragging him off towards the elevators.  </p><p>A small smile plays at Rio’s lips as he watches the scene unfold and Beth’s stomach clenches at the thought of what chain of events Rio has set off. <em> With her help </em>. </p><p>“We’ll give ‘em an hour to clear out, then we can go.” Rio finally says, his tone clipped. He settles into an empty table, without even looking at her, ordering another drink from a passing waiter. Beth orders one as well.  </p><p>“So, are you going to tell me what all that was about?” Beth asks, as she shifts to the side, crossing her legs and leaning back in her seat.  </p><p>Rio’s eyes drop, his gaze sweeping over her legs, traveling up to where they disappear under her dress, and then even further, over the curve of her hip, before flicking back up to her face.  </p><p>It takes everything in her not to squirm under his scrutiny.  </p><p>“You really wanna know?” He asks, before taking a drink, leaning back in his seat as well.  </p><p>“I’d really like to know if I played a part in...” Beth pauses, glances around, before lowering her voice as she leans forward, “...someone’s <em> murder </em>tonight.” </p><p>Rio throws his head back and laughs and Beth’s momentarily caught off guard, because she doesn’t think anything she said was funny.  </p><p>“Oh mama, you really do believe I be killin’ off people left and right huh?”  </p><p>“I mean...don’t you?” She challenges, quirking an eyebrow, because <em> hello</em>, she’s the most obvious example of his penchant toward murder.  </p><p>He looks her over, like <em> she’s </em> a question he doesn’t quite have an answer to and then he’s leaning forward too, and Beth resists the urge to sit back again.  </p><p>“Would it matter?” He asks, chin in hand, smile on his face and Beth rolls her eyes.  </p><p>“I’m not exactly thrilled whenever I'm an accessory to murder.” She replies dryly, picking up her glass and taking a small sip.  </p><p>“Oh yeah? You and Ted besties now? You startin’ to feel a lil guilty turnin’ on all that mama charm for him? All that talk about not bein’ a warm body...”  </p><p>Beth flushes as she thinks about him watching her with Ted. “We had a very nice conversation. He seemed like a really sweet guy.”  </p><p>“Yeah, sweet don’t mean shit in this business, darlin’. Your worst rotten eggs are always gonna be wrapped up in the prettiest of packages. You an I both learned that the hard way.”  </p><p>Beth sucks in a breath, averting her eyes as heat kisses her cheeks, and she finally leans back in her chair. Okay, so he’s found a chink in her armor. She shifts in her seat again, picking her drink up and taking another sip, before tilting it in her hand a little, watching the liquid inside swirl around and gently lap at the sides of her glass.  </p><p>“So, that’s what he was?” She asks quietly, still watching the liquid, “Your rotten egg?”  </p><p>“Nah, not mine. But someone’s.”  </p><p>Beth feels a brief pang of sympathy and regret for poor Ted.  </p><p>The party has winded down significantly by the time Rio decides they are good to make their exit.  </p><p>Beth feels substantially less tense in the elevator ride down, the alcohol having eased some of the tension, as well as Rio’s mini meeting being pulled off without a hitch.  </p><p>Of course, that should’ve been the first warning sign that something was going to go awry—because when had working together ever not ended in immediate disaster for them? </p><p>Once they reach the ground floor, Beth excuses herself to the restroom, knowing how long the car ride home will be.  </p><p>After she’s done using the bathroom and washing her hands, she carefully examines her flushed appearance in the mirror, wondering when this ‘two steps forward, one step back’ dance between her and Rio was going to end. Would they ever get off on the <em> right </em> footing? Would they ever fall back <em> into </em>step with each other? </p><p>Beth sighs, running her fingers through her loose curls, fluffing them out a bit, before turning and leaving the restroom.  </p><p>Rio’s waiting outside, leaning up against the opposite wall, texting on his phone. Beth rolls her eyes as she stops in front of him. This man and his phone.  </p><p>He makes her wait a minute more before pushing off the wall and rounding the corner to the lobby, Beth right on his heels. She’s not sure why he’s still so pissed off. Everything had gone smoothly and now they were headed home, where they could part ways immediately.   </p><p>She’s still stuck in her thoughts when Rio stops short and Beth runs into his back before she can stop herself. She hears Rio cuss quietly underneath his breath.  </p><p>“What?” She asks, carefully side stepping him and following his hard gaze over towards the front doors of the lobby.  </p><p>There are two security guards standing on either side and it looks like one of the desk clerks is locking the doors.  </p><p>Rio ducks his head, course correcting, strolling over to the front desk instead. He leans his arms against the counter top as he smiles cheekily at the woman behind the desk.  </p><p>“Yo.”  </p><p>“Hi! Can I help you?” She asks, looking a bit flustered.  </p><p>“As a matter of fact,” Rio leans forward a little, squinting at her name tag, “<em> Janice</em>, I think you can.”  </p><p>Beth rolls her eyes as she watches him flirt, as he makes fake small talk until he can find an in.  </p><p>It only takes another minute before Janice visibly starts to relax, and Rio pounces. “So, what’s goin’ on over there?” Rio asks, tilting his head over toward the doors, where the clerk is now talking to a couple trying to leave.  </p><p>“Oh, we’ve been told to shelter in place for the next 24 hours. We’re working on informing all guests now.”  </p><p>Rio stiffens slightly. “Is that right?”  </p><p>“Mhm, a guest fell ill earlier this evening and we’ve just confirmed they tested positive for that nasty virus going around. We’re working on finding out exactly where they visited in the hotel and who they came into contact with. Once we figure that out, we’ll be letting people leave.” </p><p>Beth’s watching him closely, sees him relax a bit at this new information and—oh, he must’ve thought all this was about what he’d been doing upstairs. “That’s too bad.” Rio says, and he really does look so sincerely sympathetic that Beth can’t help but scoff.  </p><p>They both turn to look at her and Beth clears her throat, trying to play it all off like a small cough and Rio smirks at her, but she can tell he is clearly <em> not </em> amused.  </p><p>“We realize what an inconvenience it is to our guests,” Janice finally interjects, thankfully drawing Rio’s attention back to her, “so we’ll be comping rooms for the duration of our lockdown.”  </p><p>“What if we don’t currently have a room, Janice?”  </p><p>“I think I could help you out with that.”  </p><p>“Oh, that’d be great.”  </p><p>Beth feels like she’s having an out of body experience. There is no way this is happening right now. 24 hours? This has to be a mistake.  </p><p>Beth steps up to the counter, ready to plead her case to Janice, ready to turn on her sweet suburban housewife charm, drop some anecdotes about her children (who obviously need their mother back home ASAP), anything to talk her way out of this hotel, but Rio stops her with a firm hand at her hip, squeezing lightly.  </p><p>“We just came from the Tower ballroom event.” Rio says, turning to grin at Beth, transferring it back over to Janice a second later, and Janice returns his smile readily, an easy target for Rio’s charms.  </p><p>“Oh, the Kavinsky wedding. Such a sweet couple. Are you from the Groom’s side or the Bride’s?”  </p><p>Rio turns to Beth, eyes dancing with amusement, silently egging her on to join in spinning his web of lies, and Beth clears her throat. “Bride’s. We went to college together. Old roommates.” Beth offers easily.  </p><p>“Yeah, she’s the one who introduced us. If it weren’t for her, we never would’ve gotten together. Aint that right, sweetheart?” Rio pulls her closer into his side, briefly nuzzling at her neck, and Beth resists the urge to shove him away, even as her pulse picks up and she flushes hot with the proximity of him.  </p><p>Beth nods weakly as Janice tuts her approval of their apparent meet-cute. “Oh, that is <em> so </em> sweet. Well, I have good news! We have one room left for the weekend and lucky for you two lovebirds, it’s a suite!”  </p><p>“Neat.”  </p><p>Beth feels like her brain just kind of...glitches out at Janice’s pleased proclamation and Rio’s absolutely <em> absurd </em> response, because she <em> has to be </em> in some sort of alternate universe for this to actually make any sense, right?  </p><p>The world's worst cosmic joke.  </p><p>But then Rio’s nudging her, keycards now in hand, back toward the elevators, and Beth finally crashes back down to reality as she shakes her head.  </p><p>“This is not a good idea.” She manages weakly, “I think if we just go back and talk to her—”  </p><p>“Oh yeah? You think you can play that mama card past those two guards over there? Draw more attention to us then there needs to be?”  </p><p>There’s a sharp edge to his words and Beth finally looks at him, coming to the sudden realization that he’s—  </p><p>He’s <em> mad. </em> At <em> her. </em>  </p><p>“I’m sorry, is this somehow <em> my </em> fault?” She asks incredulously, as he jambs his thumb into the elevator call button several times before stepping back.  </p><p>“You the one who stopped off at the bathroom, yeah? Couldn’t wait five more minutes.”  </p><p>Beth turns to fully face him then, absolutely dumbfounded by his apparent logic.  </p><p>“I suppose I should’ve just peed all over your shiny new car?” She throws out sarcastically and Rio turns to her with a sharkish grin. “Nah, sweetheart, I was thinkin’ more of a lil pop and squat by the side of the road.”  </p><p>Beth’s mouth falls open in shock, before she quickly recovers, sputtering out, “How about this is <em> your </em> fault for dragging me out in the middle of the <em> obvious </em> pandemic that’s going on,” as she gestures wildly out toward the lobby.  </p><p>Rio reaches forward, aggressively pushing at the call button again, huffing out an irritated sigh and Beth folds her arms across her chest.  </p><p>“That isn't going to make it come any faster.”  </p><p>She sees Rio’s back stiffen at her words and she feels her stomach twist up in some deranged sense of pleasure at getting a rise out of him.  </p><p>He doesn’t say anything however, doesn’t even look at her, and she finds herself...disappointed.  </p><p>What the hell.  </p><p>Finally, the elevator dings and the doors slide open and Beth follows Rio in, moving to the opposite side as him.  </p><p>He stabs the button for the 12th floor and steps back and Beth does the same.  </p><p>They’re facing each other, both leaning back against the handrails, and Beth tries her best to ignore him but... </p><p>Her eyes keep drifting back up to his face, where his head is tilted back against the wall, his heavy lidded eyes steadily on her, dark and unyielding.  </p><p>Suddenly the elevator feels too small, there’s not enough air, and Beth feels her chest start to heave a little bit, a flush spreading across, and she sees Rio’s eyes drop, and she realizes a few of the buttons on her cardigan have popped open and her hands tighten around her clutch as she shifts slightly.  </p><p>Rio’s eyes snap back up to hers with the movement and Beth sucks in a breath at how blown they are, at the <em> heat </em> there, at how he’s not even trying to hide it.  </p><p><em> But that isn’t what they do anymore. </em>  </p><p>“You look good.”  </p><p>Her breath catches in her throat at his words, at how low, gravelly, his voice gets when he says them. How she can feel every part of his mouth with the delivery of those three little words. The sensual twist of his tongue around each syllable, the bite of his teeth with their double meaning, the soft kiss of them against her skin as they leave his lips. They <em> sink in</em>, run through her veins, disarming and intoxicating.  </p><p>“Thank you.” Beth finally manages to breathe out, after a beat.  </p><p>Rio smirks, head tilting to the side slightly, hooded eyes taking her in all over again. <em> This </em> look, at least, is more familiar. Less intimate and more calculating—the look he gives when he’s intentionally trying to throw her off balance.  </p><p>“So, what’d you two talk about, mama?”  </p><p>Beth’s confused for a moment, shaken out of her reprieve. Her eyebrows furrow slightly and then smooth out when she realizes who he’s talking about. Before she can answer, the elevator stops at the 12th floor, and they both step out, Beth trailing Rio down to the very end of the hall, where their suite is.  </p><p>Beth’s hands tighten on her clutch again, her fingers digging into the beaded pattern almost painfully.  </p><p>She silently curses every single idiot in this hotel for her being stuck here for the night with Rio.  </p><p>A virus spreading around, killing people, and a quarantine going on, and these idiots still insisted on their parties.  </p><p>Or conducting unnecessary business, Beth thinks, glaring at the back of Rio’s head.  </p><p>He gets the door unlocked, pushing and holding it open for Beth to step through first. She leaves as much space as possible as she steps past him, looking around as she moves through the living room, peeking into the little kitchenette area. And really, there are worst places they could be stuck in. She moves past the kitchenette, pausing in the doorway that leads to the bedroom.  </p><p>There’s a king size bed sitting in the middle of the room and Beth closes her eyes as she, once again, curses the universe for its personal vendetta against her.  </p><p>“You never answered my question.” </p><p>Beth turns to Rio, who’s standing in the middle of the living room, staring at her.  </p><p>“And what question was that?” She asks, playing dumb.  </p><p>“What’d you talk about?” He repeats, stepping closer, and Beth shifts back.   </p><p>There’s the slightest edge to his question, along with the way he rocks his jaw, that makes her realize... </p><p><em> That’s </em> what this was about? He’s irritated because of her and Ted? That whole thing had been his idea to begin with, it’s not like she’d had a say. Why did he keep pressing this?  </p><p>And<em> —Oh. </em>  </p><p>Was he...jealous?  </p><p>Beth clears her throat, trying to push those thoughts out of her mind.  </p><p>“Oh, you know, the usual,” She finally replies, as nonchalantly as possible, “How nice the weathers been.”  </p><p>Rio huffs out a laugh, taking another step toward her and Beth steps back, crossing the threshold into the bedroom.  </p><p>“Somehow I doubt that, ma.” He says, eyes boring into her, sending a shiver down her spine. “You two looked pretty cozy.”  </p><p>“Oh? You could tell all of that from across the room?” She shoots back, ignoring the heat that spikes in her belly.    </p><p>“Nah, I don’t think someone like him gets someone like you in front of ‘em, and wastes time talkin’ bout the weather.”  </p><p>“Someone like me?” She asks, lips parting slightly as she holds his gaze.  </p><p>“Yeah,” He takes two steps forward this time and Beth immediately takes two back and now they’re both in the bedroom and Beth’s starting to feel a little dizzy, “You, lookin’ the way you do in that dress. All them curves. With that mouth o’ yours. Just—you. All o’ you.”  </p><p>“Rio—” Beth cuts off with a gasp as he advances on her and she stumbles back, her legs hitting the foot of the bed as she drops her clutch, and his arm wraps around her before she can fall, his other hand coming up to grip the back of her neck.  </p><p>“Did he buy you a drink? Ask for your number? Invite you back to his room?” His arm tightens around her waist, pulling her closer and Beth lets out a small gasp as her soft curves press against the hard planes of his body.  </p><p>“So, what if he did?” She asks, “It was your bright idea to put me in this dress and drag me out here as a distraction. You got what you wanted.”  </p><p>“Nah,” His eyes drop down to her mouth, “not yet.” He lets go of her neck so his fingers are free to stroke over her jaw, her chin, thumb coming up to brush over her bottom lip, nudging it down so that her lips part.  </p><p>Beth tilts her head up just as he lowers his and their lips brush against each other, just the lightest touch, and Beth can’t help the tiny moan that slips out at the contact.  </p><p>Her hand comes up, smoothing over his tie, before she wraps her fingers around it and tugs, pulling him down further, closer, pressing her lips harder against his, and he responds immediately, pushing her back onto the bed and following her down, settling between her legs and grinding down, leaving her breathless.  </p><p>Her dress has ridden up, bunched up at her hips, leaving her exposed, her panties the only barrier against his onslaught, and he quickly rids her of those, yanking them off and tossing them aside. </p><p>He rocks back on his knees, smoothing his hands up the insides of her thighs and spreading them open further, stretching her out, making her gasp again, and the wicked smile that spreads across his lips is almost sinful.  </p><p>Beth’s hands reach up above her head, grabbing onto the pillows, fingers sinking in and twisting.      </p><p>Her hands yank down on them as she feels Rio’s thumb graze across her clit, her hips rocking upward as she sucks her bottom lip between her teeth.  </p><p>“Bet he was thinkin’ bout gettin' you outta them panties the whole time you was talkin’. Bout getting between these legs. Bout this—” Rio slides two fingers inside of her and Beth’s head lolls to the side, face half buried in the pillow as she sucks in a sharp breath, her hips lifting as she fucks herself onto his fingers.  </p><p>His thumb swipes over her clit again and Beth reaches down, her small hand wrapping around his wrist, taking control, and Rio watches intently, tongue darting out to wet his lips, as she shows him exactly where and how to touch her. </p><p>He works her with his fingers until she feels so close, she could scream, and then he’s pulling his hand away and flipping her over onto her stomach. She hears him unbuckle his pants, hears the rustling of clothing as she breathes heavily against the pillows, squirming impatiently, her body restless to feel him inside of her again.  </p><p>Rio yanks up on her hips and Beth props herself up onto her forearms just as he pushes into her and she rocks forward with the force of it, her head dropping down as she closes her eyes, letting herself get lost in the achingly familiar feel of him.  </p><p>It’s not long before he finally, blissfully, pushes her over the edge, and she bites into the pillow to muffle her cries. And then Rio’s grabbing her arms, pulling her up, her back flush against his chest as he continues to grind himself into her, biting down hard on her shoulder as he comes.  </p><p>It’s not until after they’ve both caught their breath that he seems to fully register the fact that they’re still wearing the majority of their clothing. He undresses them both in record time before pulling her down onto the bed with him.  </p><p>The next morning the bedside table rings, and Beth rolls over to answer it with a groan. It’s the front desk letting them know that the shelter in place order is still in effect, that they should try to stay in their room as much as possible, and that they should let the front desk know if they need anything. Beth barely gets a thank you out before she feels Rio press up against her back, his mouth hot on her neck, the hard length of him pressed up against her ass, as he takes the phone from her and hangs it up. </p><p>She guesses they won’t be leaving anytime soon anyway.  </p>
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